Tommy Genesis: 12 Things You Need To Know About The Bisexual Canadian 'Fetish Rapper'

Over the weekend, a crowd including the likes of Elle Fanning, Gwendoline Christie and Milla Jovovich sat down to watch the Miu Miu Resort '18 presentation in the Paris Automobile Club, inside the newly reopened post-renovation Hôtel de Crillon.

Ahead of the collection – which heavily focussed on jumpsuits: orange knits, silk prints, patches with the name Marilyn (presumed to be Monroe) stitched on them while 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' features on the catwalk soundtrack – guests were greeted to the sounds of Tommy Genesis.

Name not familiar? No, us neither. But she is the Canadian rapper who, let's face it, is going to be all over your Spotify playlists this summer.

She posed for the brand with the slogan: 'I am starstruck in #mycalvins'.

2) Tommy is a self-proclaimed 'fetish rapper'

The openly bisexual rapper described her music as 'fetish rap', and opened up about the term to Highsnobiety to explain its definition as: 'Oral fixation. Sexual deviance. Saying things to get a reaction or coveting sexual experiences. I didn't know how else to say, 'You think I'm rapping but I just sex talk.'

3) You won't know her age anytime soon

Genesis might be her birth name but the rapper gave herself the moniker 'Tommy', and is consciously making sure you know as little about her life as possible.

Last year, she declined to reveal her age and told W magazine: 'If I had it my way, you wouldn't know my gender. I hate being put in any box.'

4) She's an artist in all sense of the word

Despite writing her first song at the age of 10, Genesis first studied gender politics, film and sculpture at college, before turning her attention towards the music industry, according to the Guardian.

In 2015, she made her first signing with Atlanta-based Awful Records. Artists Abra, who is signed to the label, features on the standout track 'Hair Like Water Wavy Like the Sea', off Genesis's debut album World Vision.

5) Cutting up tour merchandise T-shirts is her thing

One look at Genesis' Instagram account and you'll see the Canadian dressed in an array of cropped merchandise T-shirts from the likes of Thrasher, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden.

She pairs them with pleated miniskirts and patches by her designer friend Julie Kucharski of fashion brand Left Hand LA.

6) She's deep like the ocean

Speaking of the marriage between fashion and music, the star told W magazine: 'They're like twins, but they're not identical ones. They just walk around holding hands.

She also reads critical theory texts on art for fun, comparing last year's Hood By Air show to a Vito Acconci performance piece and citing a pre-Kanye West Vanessa Beecroft as among her favorite artists, according to W.

But art is incredibly important to Tommy, with her once admitting to Complex magazine that she wanted her work to 'be something, not be about something'.

'In art theory, there's a concept called phenomenology. To me, it's when you make art that can operate on its own. It's not something you have to sit there and explain in a critique, but something the viewer can discover.

'I try to apply this concept to my methodology of music-making. I don't just want to reference what's already been made, I want to make something new,' she added.

7) It's pretty tricky to describe her sound

When asked by Dazed to attach a genre to her music, Genesis said: 'The internet is my heritage, and "genre" is just a word. My cultural lens is a blurry, undefined intimate one – like peeping through your neighbours blinds and seeing something you're not supposed to see. It's that in a musical form.

Confused? Glad we're not the only ones.

8) She's openly very sexual

Following in the footsteps of Taylor Bennett (the younger brother of Chance the Rapper) and Frank Ocean who have both come out as bisexual, Genesis isn't afraid of talking openly about her sexuality.

'I remember in kindergarten, I would draw hyper-realistic BDSM nude portraits – I was very good at it. I'd say my creativity was fuelled by my heightened sense of sexuality,' she told Dazed.

She also revealed to W magazine: 'I read a lot of erotica. Sometimes when I'm writing, I write it like an erotica novel, but it's about my life.

'I am a very sexual person, and it's something that has always been a con in my life because it's something that I have always had to defend. I'm not unaware of what I'm saying, but I don't realise it's so explicit until it comes out. Even if you say I'm hip-hop, I'm not hip-hop. I make sex-talk art weirdness,' she added.

9) Tommy is pretty much a younger version of M.I.A

Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz announced announced the release of its new Concept EQ showcar and recruited the likes of rapper M.I.A and her protégé, Tommy, to star in its campaign.

In the clip, the pair can be heard reciting poetry and playing in the desert, wearing an array of nude-hued fashion and sequins.

In charge of this year's London-based Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre, M.I.A even invited Genesis to perform at the festival with her, along with Mykki Blanco, and the French artist MHD.

10) She's loves a ripped jean

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

11) She's now signed to Downtown records

Leaving Awful Records to pursue a career with Downtown/Interscope Records, Genesis explained to Billboard of the move: 'They came at me with so much love, it was a genuine connection. I played them [my unreleased album World Vision 2] and by the way they reacted, I knew they would help me raise these weird, patched-up kids I made.'

12) She *loves* Manga

With an obsession for Japanese Manga series Uzumaki and British comic book Tank Girl, Genesis admits Japanese culture heavily influences her fashion choices.

'I like to wear plaid skirts because it's like walking around with a sign that says, "F*ck you I'm young", and I like to wear crop tops because they're really comfortable but also slightly provocative.

'I like combat boots because they make me feel powerful and masculine. I like to look like I could have just walked out of an anime,' she adds.

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